Trio
by corneroffandom
Summary: Heath, Zack and Ricardo have an idea. All they have to do now is convince Wade, Dolph and Alberto to go along with it.


A/N: This kind of combines Open Your Eyes, The Way You Are, and Dedicated universes. If I finish it in time, there'll be a similar Halloween fic out sometime in the next couple days I think.

"Wade?"

Wade Barrett sighs, almost scared to know what Heath Slater's thought of now. Since his knee injury a few weeks back, he'd been finding more and more ridiculous things to do to pass the time. He's still not sure how he'd talked him into playing one of his zombie killing video games, but it had happened. And Wade had lost spectacularly, dying in the first five seconds of the game. "What now, Slater?"

Heath's limp is still visible as he awkwardly makes his way over to sit next to the Intercontinental champion, trying to smile through what pain remains. "So we were thinkin'-"

Wade sighs. "We? Let me guess, Ryder and Rodriguez. Now I'm _truly_ dreading to find out what you all have cooked up." He stands up to move away but Heath reaches out, grabbing his arm. "Let me go, Heath," he says quietly, unsurprised when the younger man doesn't budge. "Heath!"

"Aw c'mon, Brit! It won't kill ya!" Heath urges, still clinging to him. "At least hear me out!"

"Slater, let me go," he repeats tiredly, knowing better than to turn around and catch sight of the younger man's pleading gaze. "Now." But Heath, despite his leg, has reserves of energy and stubbornness many men would be hardpressed to fight free from, and he tugs harder, toppling Wade clear over until he's sitting awkwardly next to the ginger, wondering how the hell Heath succeeds at these things. When he turns to glare at the ginger, he finds himself staring at wide, hopeful brown eyes, and groans, knowing he's caught. "You ridiculous ginger git," he groans. "_What is it?"_

Heath grins, knowing the victory is his now, before quickly explaining it all to one very horrified Brit. "Doesn't it sound like fun?!" he demands even as the other man buries his face into the couch cushions, hoping that it'll swallow him alive right then and there. The soft, warm feel of Heath's lips on his inked shoulder isn't enough to comfort him. "Aw, you'll have fun, I promise," he grins, brushing a hand through Wade's dark hair. "You'll see. You'll be thankin' me once we figure it out!"

"I highly doubt that," he mutters, closing his eyes even as he leans minisculely into Heath's touch.

Dolph, still taking time coming back a hundred percent from his concussion, is sitting on a beach in Long Island, taking in the sun in pretty much the only half-way decent spot he and Zack had agreed on many years back, where the Guidos were at a minimum and the ocean water actually _sparkled_. He's laying on a towel, dozing as the sun glistens off of his hair and down his back, when wet arms wrap around his midsection, lifting him off of the sand and clinging possessively to him. He grunts and groans, drawn rudely out of his nice nap. "Zack, what the hell-"

"Hey, bro," he greets him, kissing the back of his neck sloppily and grinning as he huffs. "Figured you'd rather not get sunburnt."

"And this is supposed to help how?" he huffs, pressing his hands to Zack's shoulders before squeezing warningly. "Zack, let me go- I was having such a good nap too-"

"Well, if you want to look like a lobster when you wake up," he smirks, sticking his tongue out at Ziggler as he gets free from Zack's grip and stubbornly drops back down onto his towel, huffing. "I just wanted to ask you something, bro."

Groaning, Dolph looks over his shoulder and rolls his eyes. "This better not be about your hair, again. I've told you five million times since you started growing it out-"

Zack drops down next to him and digs his fingers in the sand, huffing. "No! It's not my hair, bro. I was just thinking it'd be fun to do a group thing-"

Dolph freezes then, frowning. "Group thing? What group?" he asks warily, thinking he knows already, but needing it confirmed. "Zack, I swear to God-"

Zack grins. "Bro-"

"No." Turning on his side to ignore him, Dolph closes his eyes and tries to find the peace that'd been so cruelly taken from him when- "ZACK!" he yells, sitting up and wildly shaking his head, sand going this way and that. "Why do you do that every time?!"

"Because," Zack pouts. "You ignore me every time we come here, bro. If a headful of sand will get your attention, well..."

Ziggler rolls his eyes. "Maybe you'd like a mouthful of water..." Shaking his head, he stares at the sunkissed man, eyes softening marginally at the pitiful twist to his lips. "Fine. What do you want to tell me about this group ridiculousness?"

Zack grins, suddenly looking excited again as he explains, ignoring Dolph's refusals even as his voice grows louder with each word out of the broski's mouth. "It's going to be fantastic, bro!" He leans against him and smirks, trailing a hand up Ziggler's throat. "C'mon, imagine how annoyed Wade and Del Rio both will be by all of this. It'll be hilarious, at least."

Dolph groans, staring at him. "You're serious, aren't you?" He scrapes his fingers through his hair and shakes his head. "There is no way Barrett or Del Rio agree to this, especially when they hear I'm involved. But, I guess, _if_ they do, then I'll tag along. I haven't had enough opportunity to mock stupidity since this concussion... This would be the perfect chance. There'll be so much of it around."

Zack smirks. "You're a jerk, bro." But it doesn't stop him from pulling Dolph closer and kissing him, tangling his fingers in his bright hair.

Alberto Del Rio basks in the sun, resting in a hammock he'd found that one of the gardeners had randomly set up during one of the overseas tours, probably using it during his breaks or some such nonsense, and had forgotten to take apart before his employer had returned home. Deciding to go along with the old saying that possession is 9/10ths of the law, it being set up on his property, after all, he'd called the man in and ordered him to keep it up, finding it enjoyable and relaxing to lay in. Sunglasses covering his closed eyes, he lazily rocks back and forth until footsteps approach, familiar hands gently resting on his arm to still the hammock before Ricardo Rodriguez gingerly settles in next to him, both breathing a little easier when the thing doesn't tip over and send them crashing to the ground below. "El Patron," he murmurs, pressing against his employer's side.

"Ricardo," he hums, wrapping an arm around the younger man to offer a little bit of support to keep him in place before subtly beginning to rock the hammock back and forth once more. "Were you lonely inside? Hmm?"

"A little," he admits, nuzzling closer to him, pausing in still lingering amazement, even after all of this time, at just how perfectly he fits under Del Rio's arm. "But I also came out to ask you something."

Alberto blinks, unsure about the tone of his ring announcer's voice, almost worried, definitely hesitant. "Should I be scared?" he asks, half-smiling as Ricardo's lips purse against his throat, raising his shoulders in a halfhearted shrug. "Go ahead, then. What is it?"

Deciding to just lay it out there straightforward, the younger man explains slowly, his breaths soft and soothing against Del Rio's sun-warmed skin. "Well, Heath suggested it and Zack thought it'd sound like fun, and they convinced me... We want to try to... have a triple date," he explains. Before Del Rio can even ask, he surges ahead. "You and me, Wade and Heath, Zack and Dolph. Each pair gets to select something to do, and then we go out and do them. Kind of an all-day date..." The more he explains the idea, the sillier it sounds, especially with the weight of his employer's gaze on his head. "No, um, you know, never mind- I don't-"

Alberto presses a finger to his mouth, stopping his anxious rambling. "Breathe, Ricardo. Relax." He squeezes him gently and smiles. "Maybe, if it were four other people, it _would_ be fun but how are all six of us supposed to get along? I don't see how Barrett or Ziggler would agree to this anyway." He doesn't want to ruin the gleam of excitement in the younger man's eye, but he also has to look at it realistically. He and Ziggler are still in the middle of a vicious feud for the World title, not to mention other minor rivalries and hatred lingering between all six of them. He can't figure how any of it would work out without bloodshed in the public eye, which would get them all in trouble with the WWE.

"Well," Ricardo says quietly. "Ziggler agreed to go if you and Barrett agreed, and Heath somehow convinced Wade to come... so I guess it's up to you." He doesn't look at his employer, keeping his face pressed between his shoulder and neck. "But I won't try to change your mind, if it sounds that bad to you. I don't want you miserable, and I don't really want to spend the day with Ziggler either. It just seemed mean to not include Zack if Heath and I were going to do something, and Ziggler and he are a package deal..."

Alberto sighs, pressing a faint kiss to the top of Ricardo's head, shaking his head with a wary smile. "How do you talk me into these things? Hmm?" When his ring announcer looks up, eyes gleaming hopefully, Del Rio taps him on the nose. "I guess that's how. I'll do my best to keep my temper when in Ziggler's presence." Ricardo's grinning so hard that it looks almost painful when Alberto sits up and kisses him deeply for long, warm moments before pulling him back down so they can enjoy the rest of the afternoon in the softly swaying hammock, make the most of their rare day off.

"Muchas gracias, El Patron," he murmurs, breathing softly against his employer's throat as the older man hums in response, both feeling lazy and happy under the warm Florida sun. "I'll do my best to keep you from regretting this."

The date is scheduled for the next weekend that WWE is back in Florida, to make it easier for them all. Zack and Dolph plan on booking a hotel, to all four of the Florida natives' relief, none of them wanting to have to offer a room to either the Long Island native _or_ the Show-off, each man separately just a little too loud for any of the others' tastes as housemates, even for a night. Together, they're three times as worse. "So what are we gonna be doin'?" Heath asks Zack and Ricardo as they discuss it on Skype's 3 way chat format. "You guys got any idea what you wanna suggest?"

Neither man seem that interested in divulging their or their partners' plans, to Heath's utter annoyance, but finally Zack shrugs, flashing a grin at the ginger's rising ire. "Alright, alright, calm down, bro. I'll tell ours. Dolph said the only way he'd come is if we go to a comedy club."

"Didn't he already say he'd only come if Wade and Del Rio came? How many demands does one guy get?" Heath asks, flicking his bright hair out of his eyes as he smirks, looking up when a flash of dark shows up in the screen, Barrett returning from the gym and pressing a hurried kiss to the back of his head before quickly ducking out of sight, not wanting to get stuck in a conversation with the other two men.

Zack shrugs. "If it makes him go along with all of this, as many as he wants, bro." He takes in the mocking look on Heath's face and rolls his eyes. "Like you wouldn't give in to every little thing Barrett demands, c'mon."

"First thing he's ever said that makes sense," Wade says from across the room as Heath groans, glaring at Zack's screen.

"See what you've done now," Heath grouses, exaggerating his eyeroll as he looks up at Barrett, the affectionate gleam to his brown eyes giving away the truth behind his words when their eyes lock.

"Anyway," Ricardo says, deciding to spare the ginger from anything else for Wade to lord over him later. "If Zack and Dolph pick a comedy club, what would you and Barrett choose, Heath?"

"A bar," Wade calls out, cutting Heath off. "Where the Stella is on tap. God knows I'll need it," he mutters, turning his gaze back to the book he's pretending to read.

"Is he _sure_ he doesn't want to be part of this conversation? He's talking more than you, Heath," Zack offers, grin growing as both Brit and ginger huff. "Ok, so a bar and a comedy club." Zack turns his attention over to the quiet third member of their conversation. "What about you and Del Rio? How is our day going to be rounded out?"

Ricardo coughs, a faint blush creeping up his face as he looks hesitantly at his laptop. "Erm, we- I... We were thinking about this park we'd found awhile ago." Heath looks skeptical, Zack's lips pursing as he considers it. "I know, it sounds lame but you'd have to see this place to believe it," he insists faintly. "It's- incredible, really. Trust me, you'll like it."

Zack grins, glancing at Heath's screen for a moment. "Of course, bro. Either way, it'll be a great day." They all ignore the sarcastic huff coming from behind Heath, Barrett rustling papers at the lack of reaction to his vocal displeasure. "See you at Raw, bros."

"See you," Heath and Ricardo echo before the screens all go dark at once, all of them having plans to make or wheedling to do to ensure that things go by smoothly.

The day finally arrives, Del Rio watching on skeptically as first Zack and Dolph arrive, following his long driveway until they park close to the house, Ziggler smirking out of the windshield. Only Ricardo coming up behind him and resting his hand on his shoulder keeps him from tackling the obnoxious man as soon as he gets out of the car, the older man swallowing and tugging on Ricardo's hand, desperate for this to not begin so soon. The ring announcer smiles up at him, shaking his head as he tries to lead him towards the car. "Come, El Patron. It'll be ok."

"Por que, por que," he complains, rolling his eyes heaven-ward as Ricardo laughs softly and tugs at his hand, relieved when his employer finally concedes, following him over where he stares blankly at Dolph, who's leaning against the car with his arms crossed over his chest, a mocking sneer on his face.

Zack moves around the car to join them, nudging Dolph. "Bro, remember what we discussed," he says, grinning as Ricardo looks anxiously from his employer to the show off. "All six of us are gonna abide by a truce today, right?"

Dolph looks at him warily out of the corner of his eye before sighing, some of the attitude draining from him. "I guess." When Zack continues to stare at him, not accepting that halfhearted response, he groans. "Fine. Right, we are. Geez..."

Immediately looking much more cheerful, Ryder wraps an arm around him and draws him up against his side, sloppily kissing the side of his head even as he huffs and looks like he's about to pout. "That's right, bro! This is going to be great!"

"Right," Del Rio mumbles, glancing over as Ricardo stands beside him and squeezes his hand, smiling at him. He sighs and squeezes back, shaking his head at the ring announcer as his lips twitch up, unable to keep himself from being soothed by the look in his eyes. "Did the other two get lost then?" he asks almost hopefully.

"Considering who we're talking about," Ziggler starts to mutter, looking up as Zack nudges him again. "Stop that-" he's starting to snap when they hear an approaching engine, all four of them watching as another car comes to a stop nearby. "There they are now," he says. "Hooray."

"If you're that excited, maybe we should dust off your old pompoms, Ziggler," Alberto suggests coldly, Ricardo's presence the only thing that keeps him from saying anything else. Likewise, it's Zack leaning forward to distract Ziggler with a soft kiss that keeps him from leaping over the car to attack the Mexican aristocrat, eyes flashing even as the Internet champion digs his fingers in his hair to remind him that they're supposed to be on a truce.

"Party started without us?" Heath asks as soon as he drags himself out of the car, smirking at the other four men as Wade stares at them through the windshield, looking reluctant at even leaving the vehicle. "C'mon, Brit. Sooner you budge up, the sooner this'll be over with," he tells the taller man after leaning back into the car, eyes flashing with a challenge as he smirks in at him.

Wade grunts, hating that Heath's logic makes sense, and finally snaps the car door open, slamming it shut behind him as soon as he's standing up. "Fine, Ginger," he grunts, some of the anger leaving his eyes as Heath smiles at him, turning to join his friends.

Zack and Ricardo both look sympathetic as the loudest of the three of them join them, still visibly limping. "Knee's still acting up, huh, bro?"

"Yeah, but it'll be fine. Dr. Samson gave me some muscle relaxers if I really need 'em badly. So I'm not gonna let it ruin today," he grins, glancing around at Wade, Dolph and Alberto, who are eying each other suspiciously. "Cheerful group, ain't they?"

"Yeah, we should do something before they begin fighting," Ricardo mutters, turning his attention back to his employer. "El Patron-"

As he tries to distract the older man, Heath returns to Wade's side and begins stroking his hair, smirking as his annoyance is diverted from the other men, Zack takes to rubbing circles in Dolph's shoulders, grinning as he sucks in a deep breath, glaring balefully over at him.

"Are you sure we have everything?" Ricardo asks, reaching for the keys to the trunk. Alberto releases them with very little reluctance, watching as the ring announcer goes to check, the other four men curious what they could possibly need. "Ok, I'd say we're ready." The younger man returns to his side and squeezes his hand before returning the keys to him. "Are you all ready to go?"

Dolph and Zack exchange glances, Heath leaning on Wade to take some of the weight off of his knee. "Yep," Zack agrees with a grin. Wade shrugs as Heath nods, pushing back onto his own two feet. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"We're going to this... park thing first, right?" Dolph asks blandly, obviously far from impressed with the idea.

"Si," Del Rio snaps, looking angry at the dismissive tone used towards Ricardo's idea. The ring announcer, knowing better than to let Ziggler's comments really bother him, or at least show it if it should, shakes his head, patting his arm to comfort him. "Come, Ricardo," he tells him, leading him towards his car, relieved that they're all going in separate cars since they're all staying at different places at the end of this thing.

"Smooth, bro," Zack shakes his head at Dolph, unsurprised. Not for the first time he wonders how the truce is going to hold up as he turns the other man around and pushes him towards the car, ignoring his responding swats and complaints.

Heath grimaces then laughs at the lingering look of annoyance on Wade's face, leaning up to kiss him. "C'mon, Brit. It's our turn to go to our car."

"We never left it," he grouses, slipping back into the driver's seat with a look of relief on his face to at least be in the relative peace of his own vehicle, away from the other four men. Not for the first time, he wonders how he'd allowed himself to be talked into a full day of this nonsense... before he looks up and catches Heath's eye, remembering immediately when he sees the happiness in its brown depths at the very prospect of today. "Ginger git."

Heath grins at him as he turns the key in the ignition, starting the car up. Before he can take the car out of park, he leans over and cups his jaw, turning his head to face him. "Thanks again, Brit." He leans forward and kisses him deeply, lingering for as long as he dares before prying himself away and hooking his seatbelt in place, ignoring the dazed look that Wade shoots his way before inching out of the driveway to follow the other two cars.

"Bloody manipulative, that is," he grouses, huffing as Slater laughs at him.

When the six of them arrive at the park, all complaints of what a boring choice this place could be is quickly squashed, even Dolph impressed by the pure size of it. "Damn," he breathes, taking in the map that's shown at the entrance. "Is there anything this place doesn't have?"

Ricardo smiles as he unloads their trunk, Alberto standing close by as he takes in the look on Ziggler's face. "Careful, you almost sound impressed," he calls out to him, turning back to take some of the things from Ricardo. "Can you get the rest?"

"Si, El Patron. Got it." Once it's all collected, he uses his other hand to slam the trunk door shut before returning to his employer's side, grinning at the wide eyed look on the others' faces.

"Damn, bros, what all do you have there?" Zack demands, taking in the piles of things in both Ricardo and Alberto's arms.

Ricardo laughs and holds up an item, grinning. "Breakfast!" he explains, watching all of their eyes take in the wrapped up steak he's brandishing. "They have small grills you can use here, and we thought it'd be a good start to the day. Which is why I suggested none of us eat before we leave. And yes, we brought food for everyone." His dark eyes rest for a moment on Ziggler, who sneers.

"Great, I'm starvin'!" Heath exclaims, taking one of the steaks from his friend. "C'mon, let's go grillin', Brit!"

He groans, following the younger man over to where the grills are just visible. "We're not splitting a steak, you ginger git. I've seen how you eat-"

Ricardo laughs as Alberto makes a face next to him. "Here," he tells Zack, handing him a couple of steaks. "Is that enough for you two?"

"Yeah, bro! Thanks!" Zack nods wildly, before snagging Dolph and dragging him off, ignoring his complaints as they approach Wade and Heath, who are still bickering over the steaks and how they should be prepared.

Alberto is looking even more incredulous over this whole situation as Ricardo grins at him sheepishly, gripping his hands and leading him towards the others. "Come, El Patron."

Del Rio groans, tangling his fingers in Ricardo's hair. "Uno momento," he grumbles. "If I'm stuck doing this, then..." He pulls the ring announcer closer and kisses him, trying to make it last as long as possible so he doesn't have to rush over and join the bickering couples across the way. Finally he grunts and releases the younger man, huffing in displeasure. "Fine. But I want more of those, today, whenever possible."

"Of course," Ricardo mumbles, staring back at his employer with a soft smile. "Whenever you want, El Patron."

Alberto grins back at him, winking slightly before wrapping his arm around the younger man's shoulders, dragging him along over to the group of competitors who've thankfully seemed to settle their issues, Heath and Wade now muttering softly over one grill while Zack and Dolph poke at their steaks over another, determined to see them cooked just right.

"Everything alright over here?" Ricardo asks, leaning against Del Rio's shoulder as they glance from pair to pair, wondering how the bickering had so quickly subsided. Their own relationship had had its ups and downs, but after only spending ten minutes around these four, it's pretty clear that they're the most stable of the three pairs. Alberto smirks at the thought and squeezes Ricardo, drawing him closer.

"Yep, bro," Zack says cheerfully, flipping his steak expertly. When Dolph mumbles something about him getting their steaks too close, Zack playfully pokes him with the plastic fork, grinning as the Show Off hisses like he's just branded him for life, brushing angrily at his arm. "It wasn't even hot," the Long Island Iced Z sighs, leaning closer to look at his tanned arm. "You're fine." Even so, he quickly kisses the spot, glancing up at his boyfriend with a mischevious glance. "See?"

Dolph grumbles and rolls his eyes, still staring at Zack in an unimpressed fashion before he leans up and repeats the action against his lips, finally mollifying the Show Off. "Fine," he mumbles, in no hurry to break the kiss.

"_Must_ you two do that here? Some of us plan on eating shortly," Wade gripes, unaware of Heath's proximity until the ginger has ahold of his collar, drawing him a safe distance from the grills before kissing him, effectively shutting him up, his angry mutters against the other man's lips slowly fading away into nothingness. "Arse!" he snaps when Slater finally lets him go, eyes gleaming.

"Worked, didn't it?" he asks with a grin before returning to their steaks, flipping them with a flourish that makes Wade roll his eyes.

"Show off."

"Hey!" Dolph cries out, Zack groaning from behind him. "That's _my_ thing."

"Grow up," Del Rio offers as he helps Ricardo position their steaks on the grill.

"Who asked you?!" the bleach blond yells, looking like he's about to jump over their own grill and attack him, but Zack holds him back, shaking his head as the truce threatens to explode in their faces. "Let me go, kid!"

"No," Zack declines as Heath and Wade watch on, the Brit intrigued by the possibility of everything going south in the first hour of the day while the other dreads the prospects of never living it down. "Calm down, we talked about this, bro." He leans closer, catching Dolph's eye, and something registers with the other man because he finally takes a breath and slumps against Ryder, huffing. "There we go."

Del Rio is about to say something about Zack being Dolph's keeper when he happens to glance over and catch Ricardo's eye, realizing how tense the younger man is, so desperate for everything to go well, despite all of the ways it could easily go wrong, and already almost has. He sighs and grunts, letting the moment pass, turning his attention back to the food on the grill.

Ricardo senses his employer's struggle to contain himself in the presence of Ziggler and leans over, the heat from the grill teasing along his arm as he presses a soft kiss to his jaw, shifting upwards to his lips when Alberto turns to look at him, eyes soft with relief. "Gracias," he whispers.

Alberto sighs and kisses back, forgetting about who's watching and everything else as they lean against each other, smiling. "Come, let's finish these steaks, si? I'm hungry."

Ricardo nods. "Si, me too, El Patron." The three pairs watch their food in blessed silence, all of them relieved that no further arguments come as they serve themselves and make their way over to picnic tables set by a fountain, the sound of babbling water soothing their strained tempers. As soon as they're all sat down, Ricardo clears his throat and smiles sheepishly as the others all look at him. "There's more than just steak," he explains, pulling out two containers from a bag that he'd settled under the table while the others were all busy with preparing the grills. "Sofia, El Patron's housekeeper, packed us mini pancakes and fruit salsa as well."

Even Wade looks interested at this, the pancakes looking and smelling incredible as Ricardo pulls off the lids, the bright colors and tangy smell of the salsa only adding to the presentation. "That looks fantastic, bro!" Zack exclaims, gaping over the table as the ring announcer grins.

"He figured pancakes would be easier to transport and serve than all of us disagreeing over eggs," Alberto says, smiling over at his ring announcer as he nods sheepishly. "Sofia agreed." He reaches over and presses a quick kiss to Ricardo's temple before spearing a couple of the pancakes with a fork he'd taken from the bag, dropping them on the plate next to his steak.

Ricardo serves him some of the salsa before looking around at the others who are taking their turns piling as many of the pancakes on their plates as they can, the younger man beginning to wonder if any'll be left for him by the time they're done. "Who else wants some of this?"

As Heath and Wade hover over the pancakes, Wade teasing him over how many he's trying to take at once, Zack takes the container from Ricardo and spoons some out onto his own before adding some onto Dolph's, ignoring his complaints and attempts at pulling his plate away. "Just try it, bro! You'll like it!"

"Why do you always do this to me?" he grouses before hesitantly taking a bite of it, squirming as Zack keeps a close eye on him.

"Well? Was I right?" he asks, grinning as Ziggler rolls his eyes at him. "C'mon, bro," he singsongs. "You know I was right."

Finally Dolph groans. "Fine, you were right. I liked it. Happy now?" Before he can say anything else, Zack has him by the neck and draws him closer for another kiss, grinning against him.

"_Now,_ yes," he smirks, ignoring Wade's vocal protests once more against the PDA. When he shuts up, Zack doesn't even need to look to know that he owes Heath _again_.

Alberto rolls his eyes, huffing against Ricardo's neck as he drapes an arm around his shoulders from behind, causing the younger man to shiver. "Idiotas," he mumbles into the ring announcer's hair, feeling it against his skin when he grins. "Why did we have to invite them again?"

Ricardo both forgets what he wants to respond to this with and doesn't get the chance _to _answer as Del Rio pulls him closer and kisses him thoroughly, causing both of them to blank on everything around them, until Wade cuts in, sounding fed up with everything around him. "Not you two too!"

"It's only fair," Del Rio snaps back, only just pulling away from Ricardo to do so. "You all were doing the same."

Wade mumbles viciously to himself before turning his attention back to his food, clearly trying to eat quickly so they can move on from this stage of the day, wondering for the millionth time already why he'd agreed to this. It's only when he glances over and catches the look on Heath's face, a curious little grin spreading across his lips, that he's reminded once more. "What is it?"

"Are those volleyball nets?" he asks, looking towards Ricardo as his grin only grows. The ring announcer nods and he chuckles, eyes flashing. "Well, then, boys. Who's up for a lil' three-on-three?"

"No!" Wade, Alberto and Dolph all yell at him, Heath flinching away from the loud refusals.

"Well, damn," he mutters, exchanging glances with Ricardo and Zack, who take the hint, turning to their respective significant others. "Brit," he says, leaning his head against Wade's shoulder and looking up at him.

"No." Wade doesn't look at him, poking at the last piece of his pancakes. "Drop it, Ginger." And although his words _sound _annoyed, the nickname is all the hint Heath needs.

"Aw c'mon, it'll be fun," he continues to wheedle, grinning hopefully as he trails a hand down Wade's arm. "Please?"

"Git, are you trying to injure your knee worse?" Wade snaps, watching as his face falls uncertainly, the warm touch on his arm quickly disappearing. He closes his eyes, releasing a deep breath through his nose, realizing that maybe he was a little too harsh. "I just want you to be alright, Ginger. Volleyball when you can barely walk normally some days doesn't seem like the best idea."

Heath grimaces, glaring down at the legs of his jeans, pinching his knee through the rough denim. "I know. But... it just sounds like fun..."

"Until you collapse and can't get back up," Wade grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and ignoring the wounded look on the other man's face. "I'm not carrying you, by the way." But there's no sincerity behind the comment, his lips twisting as he continues to fight not to look over at Heath.

"Whatever," he mumbles, staring at his hands. Finally Wade looks over at him, his willpower fading away with the dull response, and swallows, finding Heath looking more woe begotten than he'd seen him in awhile. "Guess we'll just sit here 'n' watch those guys have fun, then."

Barrett groans, feeling himself giving in to the sadness on Heath's face. "Dammit," he mumbles. "Slater."

"What?" he asks, trailing circles in the uneven wood of the bench they're sitting on, glumly frowning.

"Did you bring the knee brace the trainer gave you?" When Heath looks up at him, eyes gleaming with some hope, Wade shakes his head, not believing he's giving in like this. "Get it. And if you feel _any_ pain, you're going to stop, understand?"

He lunges forward and kisses him, nodding desperately. "Yeah, yeah, of course!" As he goes back to the car to get the brace, the British superstar buries his face in his hands and groans, wondering when giving in to Heath had become so easy, or if it ever _hadn't _been might be the better thing to ponder...

Not that he was alone in that, Dolph looking on half-heartedly as Zack goes on and on about how much fun it would be. "C'mon, bro! Then you could burn off those calories from breakfast and not complain later about slacking today!" He grins when he realizes just how dark the glare Dolph is shooting at him _is,_ this being the Show Off's one chink in his ego. "You in, bro?"

"No," he mutters angrily. "It'll take more than _that_ to get me to play this stupid game with _those guys_-"

But his words die away abruptly as Zack leans over and rests his head on Dolph's shoulder, looking somewhere between begging and pouting. It makes for a truly pathetic sight. "Please?" The longer he stares at Dolph, the more he can sense his willpower slipping, the more he grins. "Is that a yes, bro?"

"As if I need something _else_ to show off over," he grouses. "But fine, I guess. If it makes you stop looking like that."

Zack laughs, sitting up immediately. "Woo woo woo, you know it!"

Dolph grimaces as the other four look over at them incredulously. "I thought you didn't say that anymore, kid."

"I don't, but sometimes it's just begging to be said. This is one of those times!" He grins as the other man sighs at him, shaking his head. "You know you love it, bro."

"Not _it,_" he mumbles, not expecting Zack to hear- but he does anyway, his eyes softening as he scoots closer to Ziggler and presses a slow kiss to his lips, resting a hand on his face.

"Feeling's mutual, bro." He grins, staring at him with gleaming eyes. "So much."

Ricardo stares at his employer, wondering how he could convince him to play. Alberto says very little, staring back at him with a tight little smile, not mad but not overly pleased either with the prospects of playing any sort of game with the other four men, this whole day already pushing it for him. "El Patron," he starts hesitantly, blinking as Alberto leans closer and takes his hand, teasing him with gentle strokes of his fingers, distracting him from his thoughts. He releases a soft breath and looks up at the older man, shaking his head as he tries to turn his attention back to his goal. "El-" A kiss to his palm once more disrupts his attempts at speech and he groans faintly, lips twitching. He barely opens his mouth this time when Alberto grazes his lifeline with his teeth, watching him closely as he shudders. "Ay dios mio, El Patron, por favor," he finally forces out, eyes fluttering a little as they stare at each other. "May we play volleyball with the others?"

Del Rio grins against his hand, purposely stalling as he continues to pay attention to one of Ricardo's more sensitive spots, tickling his palm with his mouth. When he finally answers, he's pretty sure the volleyball game is one of the furthest things from his mind, his eyes shut as he allows his employer to do as he wants. "I suppose if we must," he murmurs lowly, laughing as Ricardo's eyes slam open once more, gaping at him. His annoyance at this tease, however, is short lived when Alberto pulls back slightly and exhales against his skin, causing him to shiver.

"Fine," he mumbles, hesitantly drawing his hand away from Del Rio's lips, though he makes sure to keep ahold of Alberto's hand as he does, resting them on the table surface, fingers laced together. "We're in," he calls over to the other two pairs as Heath holds still, Wade double checking to make sure he has the knee brace on properly, ignoring his complaints.

"Fantastic, bro! Heath, you about done over there?" Zack calls over to the orange haired man, smirking when Heath glares back at him, Wade adjusting the straps almost compulsively.

"Wade," he whines finally, fighting the temptation to push him over into the dirt. "Come on! I wanna play!"

"Impatient ginger git," he chides with absolutely no malice. "Fine, it seems secure enough." He stares at the younger man warningly for a moment longer, however, before setting his foot back against the ground. "If you feel like _anything's _wrong-"

"I know, I'll say so," Heath reiterates, leaning over once more and pressing a thankful kiss to the older man's lips. "Now c'mon, I wanna remind these guys what we can do when we actually are working together!" He grins, dragging Wade over to the nets, looking happier than any of them has seen him in quite awhile.

Zack and Dolph follow more leisurely, the Show Off pressed against Ryder's side as he drapes an arm around his shoulders, guiding him towards the sandy area. "I don't know how you talk me into any of this, kid," he grouses, just to lose all cohesive thought processes as Zack leans down and kisses the side of his throat, grinning when Dolph leans into him, wanting more.

Alberto sighs as he and Ricardo too venture onto the court, the six staring at each other. "So how are the teams going to be split up then?" he asks finally when no one makes any moves to decide such things. They all speak up at once, none of them necessarily thrilled with being on the others' team until finally- "Enough!" the Mexican aristocrat yells, impatient. "If you idiotas can't choose, I'll choose for you. Ziggler, Slater and Barrett on one, me, Ricardo and Ryder on the other."

Zack swallows, looking shocked that anyone would outright suggest he be on their team, much less Del Rio. "Me, bro? Really?" Ricardo grins over at him as Alberto nods jerkily, walking towards the net with a determined rigidity to his step. "Well, I guess we're on opposing sides again," Zack tells Dolph with a smug grin. "I'll try not to beat you too badly this time."

"Yeah, good luck with that one," Dolph rolls his eyes before gripping Zack by the back of the head and pulling him in for another kiss. "Be careful." Blue eyes wandering over to where Del Rio is standing, waiting, Ricardo by his side, he glares warningly at the man before releasing Zack and moving over to the other side of the net to wait for his own teammates.

"I'll be fine, bro," he calls out to him, grinning as he jogs over to the other two. "This should be fun... if Slater can ever find the ball." All eyes trail over to the storage shed with all of the sports equipment, distinct sounds of Heath and Wade bickering inside over different sports teams echoing back to them. "Hey, bros, any time this century!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're comin', Ryder, hold on!" Another minute and finally Wade drags Heath out of the shed, ignoring his protests. "Fine, we're here," he grumbles, huffing over at the taller man before tossing the ball over to Zack. "There, you wanted it so bad. Serve it."

"Ask and you shall receive, bro," the Broski grins, waiting until they're all in position, the three opposing team members' eyes all on him. He takes a breath and spikes it, sending it over the net. Dolph shifts to get it, Heath and Wade staying close in case he misses his goal, but he catches it just so and sends it back, towards Del Rio. The Mexican aristocrat dives for it and returns it so forcefully that it barrels towards Heath who freezes, eyes wide, before Wade lunges forward and, lacing his hands together, volleys it back almost as viciously.

"Git! Watch it," he snaps at the Mexican, his words going unheard as Ricardo fumbles and just barely catches the ball, grunting as he slides against the sand to keep it from landing. Zack picks up the slack, throwing it back over the net, Alberto quickly helping his ring announcer up and dusting him off.

"Are you ok?" he demands, glowering over the net at Wade, who is watching Heath take his turn at hitting the ball back over, his knee showing no signs of there being a problem at the moment.

"I'm fine, El Patron, it's just part of the game," Ricardo promises, smiling at him as he turns and throws the ball thoughtlessly over the net before turning his attention back to the younger man. "Don't worry. Now come, let's play."

Eventually they all get into it, moving past their various tensions with each other, giving into the game and honestly just having fun. Even Wade enjoys himself, his smirk turning into a full on laugh as Heath gains a point for their team when Zack, trying to catch the ball in time, trips over thin air and ends up face first in sand, sputtering and flailing as Alberto slaps a hand to his face, Ricardo scrambling to help their teammate to sit up. Dolph shakes his head in disbelief as they wait for the other three to sort themselves out, staring at the other man. "I guess we should've brought a toothbrush for you, who _knows_ what kind of bugs you just swallowed."

"Not funny, bro," he cries out, spitting out more sand as Ricardo kneels by him, offering some water to him. "Thanks, at least someone has some common decency around here." He swishes with the water before repeating the process until he doesn't feel any stuck between his teeth, wincing. "Dammit."

"Let me look," Dolph says, sitting down next to him and cupping his jaw. Zack huffs and glares at him a bit as he examines his face, finding it a little raw in places but all in all not bad. "Looks alright, kid." He stares up at him, trying not to laugh. "Only you." When Zack's glare turns all the more dark, he holds his hands up. "Sorry, sorry. Just saying." He leans forward and kisses him carefully, feeling a little bad for teasing him when he feels how chapped his lips are after that rough landing. "Do you want to continue playing?"

"We're tied," he grouses, staring at Dolph with a pout. "So yes. We're gonna beat your team, bro." But he smiles a little to show there's no real heat behind his words, hand steady and warm in Ziggler's palm as they stand together. "Unless you wanna forfeit."

"Hell no," Dolph smirks, pushing him towards his side of the net. "You three are going down."

"Good luck with that," Zack tells him through the net as they get into position, Del Rio serving the ball this time. As Dolph scrambles to catch it, Heath and Wade watch closely, tense and waiting for a chance to pick up his slack, but he catches it, sending it over after a couple of hits. Zack gets it however, throwing it back over with a smirk towards his significant other. Heath takes it this time, smacking it with his forearm before hitting it solidly with his hand and just clearing the net. All of them hold their breaths as it volleys to the other side but Ricardo gets into position quickly, lacing his fingers together to slam it into the air as Del Rio backs him up, spiking it enough to return it to the other side of the net. Heath and Wade both scramble to catch it, Dolph trying to avoid them as he keeps his eye on its progress, but the _Brit_ slips on some sand and loses his balance, hitting the ground hard and causing Heath to trip over his long legs, landing on top of him with an _oof_.

All six of them can only watch then as the ball spins through the air, hitting the ground and granting Del Rio, Ricardo and Zack their victory. "NO!" Dolph cries, sounding truly scandalized, as Heath groans, his head falling to land on Wade's shoulder.

On the other side of the net, however, Zack cheers loudly, grinning like he'd just won the lottery, while Ricardo and Alberto grin at each other, eyes shining. "Fantastic job, bros!" the Long Island native tells them, draping his arms around both of their shoulders, too happy to care as Alberto raises an eyebrow at him. "We make a good team!"

Wade pinches Heath's side, still pinned to the sand by the motionless ginger. "Hey, get up." When he jerks and scrambles, quickly sitting up, the Brit narrows his eyes at him and points to his leg. "Let me look now." Heath doesn't even argue, stretching his bad leg out into Barrett's lap, allowing him to undo the brace. Other than marks from the restrictive gear, it looks no worse... no inflammation or bruising, nothing to indicate that playing the game for so long had done any lasting damage to it. "How does it feel?"

"Fine," he shrugs, watching Wade's large fingers pressing against his knee, as he waits for a glimmer of discomfort on Heath's face. There is none, however, and he reluctantly rolls his pants leg back down, folding the knee brace up. "Sorry I fell on ya, Brit. Wasn't intentional."

"Of course not." Wade shakes his head and pulls himself to his feet, holding a hand out to Heath, who quickly grasps it and drags himself up as well, smiling up at his former leader. "Come here, you git." He holds him for a moment, stroking the sand out of his hair before leaning down to kiss him. "Better?"

"Yep." Heath smiles against his lips, pulling away after a moment. "Congrats," he calls over to Zack, Ricardo and Del Rio. "Good game and yada yada." He waves dismissively at them as Alberto smirks at him, an arm snug around Ricardo's shoulders as he whispers into his ear, Zack now on the other side of the net, teasing Dolph over his victory.

"Shut up," Wade grumbles, kissing him again. "Are we getting out of here now or what?" he calls over to the other four, anxious to see the end of this place. "What's next?"

All eyes wander over to Dolph, who rolls his eyes at the sudden attention being thrown his way. "Hardly," he snaps. "The comedy club doesn't even open until noon. There's at least an hour to kill."

"Great," the Brit mutters. "Now what?"

"We could go for a walk and see if anything this place has looks interesting," Heath suggests with a small smile, tugging on Wade's hand. "C'mon, Brit. Even Ziggler said it had everything, I'd kinda like to see for myself."

"Ugh," he grumbles, no heat behind his complaints as they all agree to this and follow the ginger and Brit, Ricardo content to hold onto his employer's hand and let the others go where they wish instead of guiding them around the large grounds, despite knowing every inch of the place as he'd spent a fair amount of time here over the last few years.

They find their way to a large lagoon, that spreads as far as the eye can see, and Wade stops at the edge, staring down. "Do they allow fishing here?" he wonders curiously, looking around.

"Catch and release," Ricardo nods. "Si. I think there's a place around here with fishing poles..."

Wade sneers at the _catch and release_ part, before walking away from the water, draping an arm around Heath's shoulders as the orange haired man looks at a nearby dog park, where dogs of all sizes are running around, the smaller ones yipping at him as they stare at him through the fence dividing their area from the rest of the grounds. "Huh, maybe I should bring Boodah here some day."

"Lovely, get him out of the apartment more often. That _would_ be appreciated." Wade smirks as Heath pokes him in the side, frowning at the subtle dig against his dog.

"Oh come on, you know you love Boodah! Who wouldn't?"

"Must I show you the scar from that mangy beast's teeth again?"

"In public?!" Heath demands loudly, grinning when Wade flushes a hot, angry red, eyes narrowing at him. "Kidding, kidding," he mutters, leaning forward to kiss him until he looks less pissed off. "You know I love all of your scars."

"Hmph, you better since at least half were your fault." But when Heath leans over and grazes his fingers down the curved line of raised skin along his shoulder, he shudders a little and loses focus on the argument, frowning down at him. "Never could play fair, could you?"

"Nope." He grins widely, leaning over to kiss down the path his hand had just taken, barely noticing as the others walk away, tracing the path along the water to see what's on the other side.

"I think- we're getting left behind," Wade mutters in a strained tone of voice, burying his fingers in Heath's bright hair and trying to regain his attention. "Ginger. Come on. I don't necessarily want to get lost in this place."

"Alright," he sighs against Wade's skin, nearly making the older man shudder as he stands up straight. "Let's go then." When Wade doesn't argue or pull away as he grips his hand, dragging him over to where the others are ambling away, he grins. "Whatcha all doin' then?"

"Check out this map, bro. There's even an ice skating rink!" Zack exclaims, waving a hand at the tall graph held in a plastic stand. Joining the others, Wade and Heath stare up at all of the various things the park has to offer.

"Huh," Heath mutters. "This place is huge." He grins over at Ricardo, who looks pleased with their various awed reactions. "Guess we'll have to come back some day, explore it further." He nudges Wade, who seems disgruntled at the suggestion, but says little as they continue to walk, heading through a tree-filled spot. "Hey! Swings!"

"Oh God," Dolph sighs as Zack's eyes brighten too. "I am _not_ pushing you, kid."

"I wasn't asking you to, bro!" he exclaims, following Heath over and claiming one of the swings with a gleeful grin. "Hey, Ricardo, c'mon!" he calls over to the other man, who blinks up at Alberto with a sheepish laugh before joining them too, the three of them exchanging glances. "First to swing high enough to touch the bars wins!"

"Ay dios mio," Del Rio grunts, lips twisting in worry even as he takes in the growing joy on Ricardo's face. "Anyone else have the trainer on speed dial?"

"Of course," Dolph and Wade both say at the same time, exchanging knowing glances before turning back to the swings. "So which git do you two think will wipe out first? Or perhaps the swingset itself will go, and take all three of them out?" Wade asks, hands buried in his jeans pockets as he keeps a close eye on Heath, expecting the worst to happen.

"Ugh," Alberto grouses, trying not to visualize it too. But amazingly the swingset holds, even when Zack, growing bored of swinging after a few minutes, waits until he's at his highest and jumps off, landing with a 'oof' on the sand surrounding the area, grinning so wide that it looks like it hurts, unaware of Dolph cringing from where he's watching. Heath follows suit, whooping as he falls next to the broski, laughing uproariously before he falls back, his hair splaying around his head while Wade storms over to yell at him. Del Rio turns his dark eyes towards the set, finding Ricardo staring at his friends before glancing over at his employer. Alberto's warning must be clear because the ring announcer swallows and lets his swing slow down quite a bit, barely a foot in the air before he hops smoothly onto the sand, smiling hesitantly at the older man as he lands on his feet.

"El Patron," he says softly, blinking as Alberto drapes an arm around his shoulder and pulls him closer, shaking his head fondly as he presses a kiss to his throat. "I'm ok."

"You'd better be," he mumbles, pulling him closer as Wade tugs Heath back to his feet, looking more like he's trying to shake him than merely brushing the sand off of his shirt. Dolph grimaces and wanders over to tug Zack away before Barrett can start to lecture him too, leaving the Mexicans to shake their head at the other four. "Is it time to leave yet?" Del Rio calls into the melee, relieved when it seems to distract the others from all of this nonsense.

Dolph stares at his rival for a long moment before glancing at his watch. "Yeah," he mutters. "We should go, it's about 11:30 and it'll take at least half an hour to drive there."

"Finally," Wade mumbles, thinking that there's very little Heath could find in a comedy club to potentially injure himself on. He hopes anyway.

After packing up everything again, the six men get into the individual cars, Dolph and Zack in front now to lead the way to the club. "It's not going _too _badly, is it, El Patron?" Ricardo asks once they're on the road, smiling over at his employer hopefully. "You're not completely miserable?"

Alberto pauses at a red light and looks over at his ring announcer, rubbing a finger along his knuckles. "No, Ricardo, I'm not completely miserable." He turns back to glance at the light. "It makes me happy that you're enjoying yourself, anyway." He smiles as the younger man flushes, nodding.

In the second car, Heath is idly massaging his knee, ignoring Wade's watchful gaze at every stop, when he laughs slightly. "Your face when you fell and then I tripped over ya. Gotta say, outta all of us I never expected _you_ would be the one havin' a clumsy moment."

Barrett grimaces at him before shaking his head. "Haha," he says drily. "Shows what I get for being distracted by _your_ knee."

Heath merely smirks, trailing a teasing finger down the Brit's arm. "Right... my knee..."

Zack watches as street after street disappear behind them, humming slightly. "So what's with this comedy club, bro? I didn't think they were open in the middle of the afternoon that often."

"They're usually not, but this is just for rookies to have some time on the mic, get used to being in front of a crowd, figure out the stage. All of that fun stuff." He smiles vaguely as Zack turns to look at him. "You know, before the experts take over at night. They open it up for the public on some weekends. This just happened to be one of them."

"Huh." Zack tilts his head. "Sounds like the NXT of a comedy club." He grins, an idea coming to him. "Do they allow anyone to go up on stage, or-?"

"Don't get any ideas. I mean it, Zack. Do not," Dolph says on a groan, grimacing. "I mean it, kid. The last thing any of us need is you dragging Ricardo or Heath up there with you."

"Oh c'mon, bro, you're no fun," Zack pouts. "They'd probably love us!"

Ziggler rolls his eyes towards him and sighs. "Zack, seriously. Let the amateurs do their thing, eh? Just sit back and enjoy it with the rest of us. I would rather not drag you off of the stage, covered in tomato or something."

"What, people still throw tomatoes at crappy performers?" Ryder blinks.

"I do."

"You-" It clicks with Zack and he huffs at the sudden grin that takes over Dolph's face. "That's just mean, bro," he huffs, slumping back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

Dolph chuckles and, once they all arrive at the building with no huge disasters following them, leans over to kiss him. Zack huffs against his lips but, after a few moments, returns the affection with a sigh, tangling his fingers in his hair and tugging lightly. "C'mon, let's go in," he says finally, pulling away with a knowing smirk as Zack rolls his eyes.

"Fine," he sighs, getting out of the car and heading for the door, Dolph behind him. They pay the entrance fee and find the other four waiting for them in the front lobby, looking lost. "Hey, bros, c'mon, let's find somewhere to sit, huh?" Having been to a few of these with Ziggler over the years, he knows where to go and leads the way, eyes immediately locking on a table with six chairs. He drops down instantly in a seat and motions to the others to take their spots, grinning as they only bicker a little, Wade and Del Rio both wanting the same chair that has a perfect view of the stage until Dolph pushes between them and takes it for himself, dropping a warm arm around Zack's shoulders and pulling his chair closer with a smug grin.

Barrett and Alberto both glower down at him before Heath grips the Brit by the arm, leading him to the other side of the table and pushing him into a chair, taking the one next to it which leaves two right in the middle for Ricardo and Alberto, the ring announcer murmuring to him in Spanish as they sit down. "This looks alright, you have a good view of the stage at any rate, El Patron," Ricardo whispers to him.

"Si, Ricardo, it'll do," he tells him with a soft smile, looking up when the lights dim a little later, hinting that the show's about to begin. He reaches out and takes Ricardo's hand, squeezing it as the first comic comes out, looking a little overwhelmed and uncertain.

None of the comics are that fantastic, the six men amusing themselves by mocking the poor attempts on stage, Ziggler especially taking glee in lambasting them, sometimes even heckling them loudly just to see how flustered they get, ignoring Zack's attempts at poking him into silence. He smirks, squeezing the Long Island native's hands. "Relax, kid. They're used to it by now," he hisses, grinning as one of the comics glowers over at him, just waiting for him to lay into his set.

"I just don't want to get kicked out," Ryder grumbles back, smiling awkwardly as a worker walks by, glancing over at them, visibly unimpressed.

"We won't, that's not how these things work." Ziggler squeezes his side. "These guys have to deal with much worse than whatever I'm dishing out, they have to get used to it at some point."

They _all_ understand that, unfortunately well versed in how horrible some people can be, especially if they don't like you... and sometimes even if they claim that they do. "I guess," Zack concedes, nonetheless relieved when intermission starts a few minutes later and they're allowed to go to a buffet that's been laid out as part of their admittance fee. "Finally, I'm starving!"

"Nothing new there," Heath teases him, smirking as Zack glowers over at him. But the food looks decent and all of them fill their plates with chicken and salad, mashed potatoes and gravy before returning to their table to eat and create space on the plates for seconds. When Wade is the first up to return to the line of dishes, the ginger grins. "I think that means this place gets his seal of approval, at least."

Zack's just returned with his second helping when the lights dim, heralding the return of the acts. They all finish eating midway through the set and Zack, trying not to focus on how thoroughly Dolph is unsettling the guy currently on the stage with his nonstop heckling, turns to look at the others, grinning when he finds Heath and Wade quietly bickering despite the pleased gleams in their eyes, and Ricardo leaning against Alberto, who has his arms wrapped snugly around the younger man.

Dolph is in the middle of yet another insult to the unknown on the stage when Zack grabs him and pulls him closer, muffling his words with a deep kiss, smirking when Dolph quickly melts into him with a sigh. This distracts Wade from arguing as he glares over at them, about to snap at them, when Heath hisses at him, grinning as he looks back at him, forgetting all about the latest PDA offense in his presence. Only Ricardo seems to be paying any true attention to the bumbling man on stage now, Alberto's face buried in the crook of his neck, a lazy grin on the ring announcer's face.

Finally the green performer leaves the stage and Dolph begins clapping sarcastically, stretching his arms out past where Zack is still pressed against him, shaking his head fondly before pulling away to smirk at Dolph, who pouts at the impromptu end of the make out session. "Hmph," he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zack chuckles before tugging one of his arms free, slipping his hand down Dolph's until they're resting palm to palm, squeezing

his fingers until Ziggler subtly relaxes and tangles them together, Zack's grin growing as the next stand up comedian takes the stage, this one having more presence than the other, even stopping Wade and Heath's ongoing arguing early on so they can listen.

Two more after that go through their sets to varying degrees of success and the afternoon concludes, the six men walking to the exit lazily, immediately dazed by the brightness of the sun that greets them after hours of the half-lit comedy house. "I swear you only wanted to go there so you could mock the rookies," Zack says fondly, shaking his head at his boyfriend.

"Well, duh, what other purpose do they serve?" he grins, seeming unbothered as the rest groans at him.

"Bar time," Heath calls out, squeezing Wade's hand with a grin.

"Thank God," Wade mutters, glaring back at the comedy club as Heath drags him back to the car. "What a waste of time... Bullocks!" he hisses as Heath digs his fingers into his palm with a warning smile.

"We agreed to be nice this afternoon, didn't we?" he asks, smirking over his shoulder at the other man.

"You suggested it, I made no such promise," he says grimly, looking away when Heath rolls his eyes at him. "I didn't."

"Uh-huh," he hums, slipping into the driver's seat and ignoring Wade as he leans over the passenger's side, gaping at him in disbelief. "Well, are you getting in or am I going to the bar by my lonesome?"

Wade's jaw drops as Heath starts the car, quickly dropping into the seat. "Who said you're driving?"

"The same guy who made Ricardo and Dolph drive, I reckon," Heath smirks at the confounded look on Wade's face. "Well, we're the designated drivers tonight, eh? So you, Zack and Del Rio can drink to your hearts' content."

Wade blinks in surprise, taking all of this in. "Well. Who came up with this idea?" he wonders, raising an eyebrow.

Heath's smirk grows. "Ricardo and I were discussin' it, Ziggler overheard and decided Zack should have some fun, since he's the bigger drinker between the two of them. Ricardo felt the same for Del Rio, and I... well, I stocked our apartment with better fare than they have at most of the bars around here, so I'll catch up with you at home later."

Wade smirks, his hand trailing down Heath's jaw to rest on his chest teasingly. "Thought of everything, hm?"

"Tried to," he admits, eyes fluttering as his hand slips under his shirt, causing him to flush. "Might wanna stop that unless you wanna crash before we even get out of the parking lot," he forces out through shaky breaths. Wade smirks and slowly withdraws his hand as Heath glowers over at him. "Evil!"

"You enjoy it," he says smugly, ignoring Heath the rest of the drive until they pull up in front of the bar of his choosing. While waiting for the others, they get out of the car and Heath ambles over to Wade, trailing a hand down _his_ jaw before leaning in to kiss him, the look in his eye causing Wade to pull away eventually. "What?"

Heath smirks. "Just gettin' my fill before all I can taste on ya is Stella."

"Hmph," Wade huffs. "You like the taste of Stella."

"Only sometimes," Heath murmurs, pressing a finger against Wade's lips before kissing him again. "I've acquired a taste for it, I s'pose."

The Brit swallows, almost tempted to suggest they just skip the bar and return to their apartment now, but they're so close to the conclusion of this whole thing, it's almost become a pride thing, Wade wanting to be able to say he'd survived this day _while_ holding over Heath's head that they'd done what he'd wanted for the foreseeable future.

"Well, y'comin'?" Heath smirks, aware of what he's doing to him even as he walks away from the car and waits for his former leader to do the same.

"Bullocks!"

Del Rio and Ricardo arrive next, Wade and Heath only getting a couple of minutes to take in the bar by themselves, and Dolph and Zack arrive a few minutes later, both smirking. None of them feel inclined to ask, Heath scooting closer to Wade to make room in the wrap around booth he'd selected, smirking as Wade finishes one Stella and immediately motions for a second to come with the other orders. They're not necessarily hungry after the meal served at the comedy house, so they decide to hold off on appetizers for now, Ricardo leaning against Alberto to listen to whatever Zack is saying to him as Heath watches on with a smirk, interjecting now and again from across the booth, adding to the general mayhem of it all.

"Oh brother," Ziggler mutters, watching with some interest as Wade's glower grows the louder Slater gets. "Kid, you might want to-" He shuts up quickly as the Brit grabs Heath by the collar and tugs him back so he stops leaning over the booth, trying to involve himself in the other man's conversation.

"Hey!"

"Git!"

As they fall back to arguing amongst themselves, Alberto grunts and scrubs at his face, sighing as Ricardo pushes his drink towards him as soon as it arrives, the server quickly making himself scarce when he sees the tension at the table. "Gracias," he mutters, taking a quick sip.

The ring announcer smiles sympathetically at him, some guilt in his dark eyes. "Lo siento, El Patron. This evening will be over soon. I know you're not having a very good time."

Alberto blinks and looks away from his drink, taking in the man's anxiety even now, quickly scooping his hands between his own. "No, no, Ricardo, it's fine. I'm having an alright time, as long as you're enjoying yourself. Si?" When Ricardo nods uncertainly, Alberto grins at him. "See, there's nothing to worry about. Stop looking like that." He kisses his knuckles slightly before turning back to the appetizer menu, though he's still not all that hungry yet. "It may not be something I'd want to do every week, but this was alright. I promise you."

"Si, El Patron," he finally agrees, smiling faintly as he leans closer to peer at the options as well. The table thankfully falls silent a few minutes later, Wade and Heath seeming to have argued themselves out as the Brit finally downs his Stella and relaxes a bit, Zack and Dolph watching pedestrians going by outside the establishment and smirking as they talk lowly about their lives and where they were probably heading. None of them seem to mind the easy silence after the morning and afternoon, sitting back and enjoying their drinks as the bar slowly fills up.

Heath glances around until his eyes fall on the jukebox across the room, nudging Wade to allow him out of the booth. "Where are you going?"

"To get some music playin'," he says, grinning as Wade groans. "C'mon, you know my songs're growin' on ya." Barrett stays silent as he walks over to the jukebox, dark blue eyes following him as he goes. After some thought, he selects a few songs and rejoins them at the booth as a Hinder song begins playing, the Brit rolling his eyes at the expected music. "Stop makin' that face," he laughs, scooting in next to him. When Wade continues to stare at him, he squirms. "What? I spill somethin'-?"

"You were limping again- all the way over there, and back," he points out grimly, glancing down at Heath's knee. Since the attack by Brock Lesnar after Wrestlemania, the ginger's knee had been giving him grief off and on, worrying Wade although he's determined to work through it, confident in the trainer's deduction that it's nothing serious and will recover with time. "Up."

"Brit-" he complains, shaking his head.

"Put it here, now," he orders, no leeway in his tone or gaze. "Heath, I mean it-" He quiets as Heath grouses but slowly lifts his leg and rests it in Wade's lap once more, his fingers immediately finding his knee and massaging it slowly, smirking slightly as Heath rests his head back against the booth, sighing. "I told you volleyball was too much, too soon, you git," he says lowly.

"Eh, it wasn't just that. Sat too long at the comedy club too, it started stiffening up there," he breathes out, eyes fluttering as Wade digs around in his pocket with his free hand, pulling out a bottle of pills. "Aw, Wade- c'mon-"

"No, you're taking them, they'll help with the pain and inflammation."

"But I'm s'posed to be the designated driver-" he mutters, grimacing as Wade shakes the pills at him.

"I only had half a Stella, and like you said, there's more at the apartment. If I want something else to drink, I'll get it there. I don't want you to drive if you can't walk without grimacing in pain anyway." He pushes the pills into Heath's hand and closes his fingers around it. "Take them."

He groans. "Aw, fine. If it'll get you off my case..." He downs the pills with half of the soda remaining in his glass, sighing as Wade immediately continues rubbing circles in his knee. "Damn you."

Barrett smirks. "Love you too, Ginger." When he looks up, the other four seem about as energetic as Heath is feeling, Ricardo leaning against Del Rio, whose arm is lazily curled around his shoulders, holding him close; on the other side of the booth, Ziggler is sprawled out, upperbody pillowed by Zack's lap as he teases him with nuts from a bowl that he'd asked the server for, Dolph rolling his eyes every time he gives in and eats some. "Looks like this is finally winding down," he concludes, glancing over at Heath to find he's already drifting thanks to the massage and medicine. His eyes soften a little as he shifts him, letting him rest against his side.

"Is he alright?" Ricardo asks after a few minutes, glancing over at them. "His knee-?"

"He'll be fine," Wade says. "Especially once he's back in his own bed and not sitting on this ridiculous booth."

Ricardo blinks, his lips parting. "Oh. Of course, si." Alberto squeezes his shoulder comfortingly, staring at Wade.

Heath shifts again, his bright hair brushing against Wade's arm and distracting him as he looks down at him, brows furrowing as he realizes he's fast asleep. "Alright, we should go," he mumbles, dropping some money onto the table before leaving the booth, leaning over to drag Heath out as well. "Up you get, Ginger," he grunts, lifting the other man and pausing only long enough to look at the others. "Whenever he's conscious again, he'll call you," he says, glancing at Zack and Ricardo before turning towards the exit.

"Uh, hey, bro-" Zack calls, stopping him. When he turns slowly to look once more at them, he's standing up with a sheepish grin, ignoring Dolph trying to pull him back down into the booth. "Thanks for coming."

Wade stares at him blankly and nods briskly before adjusting his hold on Heath, turning yet again to leave. "Gits," he mumbles to the sleeping man, shaking his head fondly as Heath turns his face towards him, breathing steadily as he settles him in the car.

The rest of them leave not long after that, Zack nor Ricardo wanting to risk the long lasting tensions between Dolph and Alberto devolving into a bar brawl or worse now that it's just them. As Alberto wanders around the bedroom, laying his scarf on the dresser, his watch on the bedside table, and kicking his shoes off under the bed, Ricardo watches him quietly, smiling warily. When he finally joins him, running his fingers through Ricardo's hair, winking at him, the ring announcer chuckles a little and rests his face against his shoulder. "It's good to be home."

"Si it is," Alberto concedes. "But like I told you, today wasn't so bad. It was... nice to see you happy." He kisses the top of Ricardo's head and smiles. "Just... don't plan things like this _too_ often, si?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "No, no, El Patron, I promise we won't. I'm glad you weren't completely miserable though."

"Hard to be when I'm spending time with you," he whispers, eyes fluttering as he kisses him again.

Dolph grimaces as Zack finishes his budlight lime, shaking his head. "Can't believe you made us go to a different bar just so we could find _that..._"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault Barrett chose the _one_ place so bad that it didn't _have_ BLLs, bro!" Zack huffs, leaning back against the chair.

Ziggler shrugs. "It didn't seem that bad to me." When Zack glowers at him, he laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. "Joking, joking." He smirks as Ryder rolls his eyes and leans over, kissing him. "Ugh, you taste like lime," he mumbles against his lips.

"And I know you don't mind it, so don't even pretend," he tells him, pulling away. "So outside of torturing those rookies at the comedy club, did you enjoy anything else today?"

"Eh, it was fun destroying you at volleyball."

"Um, bro, my team beat yours."

"...Shut up."

Wade dries his hands off on a towel before leaving the bathroom, pausing in the doorway for a moment to watch Heath sleep, his knee propped up on a pillow- probably for not much longer, however, as the restless man rolls over, murmuring under his breath. Between Wade's insomnia and Heath's lingering discomfort due to his knee, neither of them have been sleeping well lately, but he thinks perhaps, now that he's finally gotten Heath to take the muscle relaxers, he may get a few hours more than what's been the average this week. Which will be a start. Sighing, he drops down onto the bed and turns towards the ginger, watching him for a moment before brushing the hair out of his eyes, his gaze softening as Heath leans into his touch, relaxing a bit.

"Brit," he murmurs off of a sigh, lips twitching.

"Yes, I'm here," he mumbles back, reaching over to shut the lamp off before adjusting the pillow so that it's once more under his knee properly, then wrapping an arm loosely around Heath. "Don't tell anyone, but today wasn't as horrible as I expected. It was almost... enjoyable, even." He watches as the other man smiles in his sleep, a small smile forming across Wade's lips as well. "Good night, Ginger."


End file.
